The present invention relates to an improved flavor agent for providing a meaty flavor and flavor intensity to foods such as soups, gravies, snack goods and seasoning mixes.
Flavoring agents for providing meaty flavor and flavor intensity to foods are well-known. Various imitation meaty flavors are added to such products as gravy mixes which can be used to form the gravy itself or in combination with meat drippings for enhanced meaty flavor, as well as dried soups, sauces and chip dips. These products normally contain a hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP--as used hereinafter meaning hydrolyzed vegetable protein) or a yeast autolysate or a yeast hydrolysate to impart a certain degree of beef flavor and flavor intensity. One of the better flavoring agents contains a blend of HVP and a yeast hydrolysate. However, the degree of quality of the flavoring agent is directly related to the quality of the HVP used in the flavoring agent High quality HVP can be obtained by limitations in the processing techniques. This limited processing adds to the cost of the final HVP. It would be desirable to find a means of using a lower grade HVP while overcoming the flavor problems or sharpness, harshness, and rough flavor generally characteristic of this type of product.
It is also known to utilize yeast autolysate as a flavor donor and flavor enhancer. However, due to the cost of yeast autolysate, the use of yeast autolysate as sole flavor enhancer or donor is uneconomical.
It has also been taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,930,056 to Feminella, et al., that the dried second fraction obtained by passing a liquid mixture of cheese whey solids through a bed of molecular sieve resin has flavor enhancing characteristics. This material is suggested for use in gravies, meat extracts, sauces, soups and the like. However, it has been found necessary to utilize in some soups and gravies, beef extract in a blend of the dried second fraction and HVP to provide the necessary flavor. Beef extract is again a very expensive material whose cost is reflected in the cost of the final product.